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There was a tour of Orion today, all these pictures are from r/rollercoasters on reddit

Look at the size of the people in this picture compared to Orion...

https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/1236367972568096769?s=20 they are using a darker blue colored train in testing now! I wonder what the third color is?

Man nothing makes me miss trees quite like a new B&M coaster at a Cedar Fair park XD

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the old DA path might be used for a temporary overflow que for Orion

Not sure what you’re trying to say—everything you have written was already said in the blueprints. Also, you have the Orion entrance building marked as the food stand. The food stand is a new build where the hillside was.

^Those are some lovely curves on that turn around there. I'm hoping for some decent positive g's as it crests like Nitro pulls off.

Have we seen anything on the queue theming yet?

Before anyone says anything, this is the exact video Kings Island linked to the KI Blog below: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/march/aerial-view-of-kings-islands-new-giga-coaster-opening-in-april If you guys watch the video closely, you can see The Vortex plot and that it appears that not much of the shrubbery was saved during its removal.

Is that breaking the 11th Commandment?

Not every wooden coaster needs RMC treatment and you really can't re-vamp a steel coaster in the way that RMC revamps wood coasters. It'd be cheaper and way more practical to build a new coaster than re-vamp a steel coaster in that way. If KI goes for an RMC, it should be a ground-up coaster. I'd prefer a Topper Track coaster, but anything would suffice.

Yes. That’s the biggest improvement needed in the park. Look at past photos and see how many trees have been lost. The park is barren and miserable in the heat. Kings Dominion is the opposite and a much more beautiful park.

I am curious about B&M giga coaster chain lifts. My limited coaster understanding In the 90s was that coaster chain lifts above 200’ were heavy and reaching the practical limit. This appeared to be confirmed in 2000 when Steel Dragon utilized dual chains, and Millennium Force introduced a cable lift. Flash forward to 2012, and Leviathan breaks 300’ with what appears to be a traditional chain lift. Not only that, it’s quite fast, and there’s no return trough hanging below... it’s enclosed in the beefy track. This has obviously been successful with Fury and now Orion. So my question is, what’s special about B&M giga chain lifts? How did they seemingly so simply solve this problem that other engineers did not?

Love the rock and roll music they picked.

Due to low ridership.When they see that the ride no longer draws a reasonable amount of riders then they will add that to the equation with maintenance and operating cost. With Adventure Express being an Arrow coaster I would imagine maintenance and operating cost are higher compared to newer rides as well. Arrow parts are harder to come by with them being out of business and most certainly played a role into The Vortex demise.

On the other hand, how often is that thing down? I have never seen it. If it isn't a maintenance headache and they don't need the space for something else why would they chop it?

Was looking on Twitter and here are some answers from the park on our frequently asked questions

This might not be the best quality, but I caught Orion testing from great wolf lodge today.

I would definitely like a return of the German restaurant at Hank's and more German themeing in the Bier Garden.

I would say they would make the exception become the norm. This year Orion is the big spender, last year it was Carnivale, a few years ago it was a restaurant. They would make incremental upgrades to everything every year. Eventually people would expect a new restaurant, new ride, new celebration, etc every year.

RMC should DEFINITELY NOT touch any of the existing coasters at Kings Island. Period.

My pick would be a brand new topper track RMC. Something like Outlaw Run or Goliath at SFGAm would be great. I want them to stay away from a launch like Lightning Rod because that ride has always had notorious downtime, said as someone who is at Dollywood 8 or so times a year.

If you want a family hybrid go ride Adventure Express.

RMC doesn't need a touch any existing coasters at Kings Island. We've had GCI work on Racer and I'm sure they would work on The Beast to if given the opportunity.

Just remove Vortex and build a ground up in its place

Best answer and most logical thinking. RMC is good for a problem child coaster. The only problem child Woddie we had was removed. Yes I would like to see an RMC at KI, but ground up. Why do they have to transform an existing coaster?

Kings Island is the "Wooden Coaster Capital of the World"

I think we have all heard the question, "if you had an infinite amount of money, but lost it if someone found out, how would you use it?", and I was wondering what KI would do in a similar scenario. I think they would probably raise the wages of their workers to improve the already amazing service, and invest in places like restaurants and shops. They could use this as an excuse for any money that seems unrealistic when buying the first 500ft tall coaster.

Vibranium. They have a special source.

Add intense and over the top theming to all rides an cue lines.

There are SOOOOOOO many ways to go about this question.....

I'd start an initiative for every tree cut down, another tree would be planted somewhere else on the property

Do you think we will see some new light bulbs, on the Grand Carousel also? It would look really nice since some of them are burnt out.

I will be calling it “The Southside Blues”. First in reference to the great view from the lift hill of that empty plot of land just south of it where Vortex stood. Second for the color of Orion.

Yeah, I don't think Kings Island is keeping a list of rides that they can just dismantle. I'm sure in some cases they know which year will be the final one for a ride, but I'm also assuming the case with Vortex -- where it seems to be a decision made earlier than they'd plan -- isn't actually rare. It's just that at this point, it hit one of the most iconic coasters in the park. The nature of The Beast (no pun intended) is that rides don't last forever; to evolve with the times and to make sure riders are safe, rides will occasionally be retired. It's just business. We have a nostalgic love for things (I was heartbroken when Smurfs Enchanted Voyage was removed because it was the first ride in the park that I loved), and it's easy to forget they are machines that will break down and, eventually, won't be able to be maintained. That said, I often feel that aesthetic removals sometimes hurt more than ride removals. Sure, I'll miss the thrills on Vortex. But the one that really gets me? The tunnel that used to connect Rivertown and Hanna Barbara Land, which was overgrown with vines and lights. I have many great memories of sitting with my grandparents in there as a child, waiting for my mom to get off a roller coaster. Or the Snoopy light show they used to do at the Eiffel Tower for a year or two; a small memory, and maybe one that isn't missed. But I came back to Kings Island after several years away, that time with my new fiance (now wife), and it was so meaningful to sit by the tower and watch the show with her, understanding that my entire experience with Kings Island had a new dimension to it.

I wish the park made a significant effort planting trees every year. It seems like season after season we lose tress, but they often times aren’t replaced.

I get it, and I'm not suggesting Kings Island do away with Haunt at all. But in the summer, certain buildings -- "Black hole" or whatever is by The Bat, and the one by The Beast particularly -- stand out just because they're obviously only there for Haunt. Not being in use and just standing out in the middle of the summer with Halloween themeing just is a bad look. I'm not sure that there's a ton that can be done with permanent signage, but any way to hide the fact that "yes, this building only exists for two months out of the year" would be nice. Imagine if there was a Santa's workshop or some other Christmas-themed building just standing out in the middle of summer. Action Theater is out of the way enough that, in the end, it's not like it bothers me hugely. But when you ride The Racer, it's impossible not to notice the large, defunct building there (maybe turn it into another showplace during the summer that can be quickly retrofitted into a Haunt in the fall).

Carowinds with out a doubt, that park has changed so much. 3 great steel coasters, a new waterpark, new front gate & several area renovations.

I agree, it would make it more consistent. I think that since we have Orion now, I don't think there's as much attention on DB so I'd be fine if they painted it

I think the issue with Oktoberfest, Hank's Burrito Shack aside, is that there is simply not a lot of room to expand. It's pretty much hemmed in on all sides right now in terms of possible expansion.

I don’t see why the two areas should be merged, Oktoberfest is fine in my opinion, it just could use another small flat.

I would disagree. In my overstated opinion, I think this is nothing more than a work spotlight from below and that it would have been too early in construction for the lights to be installed. Generating clicks and creating a story out of nothing.

Oh wow. Obviously not my intention!

For some reason I got stuck on calling MT Chicken Tenders. My daughter finds it funny, so at least I'm cool in the eyes of her. LOL

Have you ridden an S&S 4d Free Spin coaster? I've ridden 3 of them - and they are terrible. (I only rode the last two for the "count.") If... and that's a big if... Kings Dominion is getting one... then shame shame shame. Not of CF quality. Shaggy

Let us always remember. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know this would cost more but I love the contrast of the red and the yellow. Wish all supports were yellow.

#RMCTheBeast

Change The Beast and you are asking for an uprising. I like the thought of a Vortex refresh or even The Racer. Those are standard out and back designs, so I’d be ok with that. The Vortex has always seemed to be that certain parts are too flat or not banked at all. I think changing some of the elements while keeping 6 inversions would make for a remarkable improvement!

I bump, why you ask? Well I was looking back at some old post, wondering what was talked about 10 "back in the day", not surprised to see that for at least 10 years, perhaps longer, people have been asking for another pack connecting either X Base w/ Action Zone or coney mall w/ Action Zone. And some people think SOB is the topic that never goes away